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Boston Metro Church Softball |
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League Rules |
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“If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.” 2 Timothy 2:5 |
Forfeits/Game TimePlease don’t forfeit. Your teammates and opponents count on you to have a full team and for a competitive game. A team must have at least eight (8) players—including two (2) women—to start a game and at all times thereafter, or else that team forfeits the game. Should a tie result in the league standings at the end of a season, the team with more forfeits will be penalized and lowered in the standings. If, by 5:00pm on the day before a game, the manager of one of the teams playing expects fewer than eight players, that manager should let the opposing team’s manager know by telephone and/or e-mail.
Start of the Game The schedule indicates which team is the home team for each game. That team will take the field first and use the first base benches. The home team also will keep the official scorebook (although each team is responsible for keeping the score and having its scorebook in proper order). Before the start of each game, both managers will meet at home plate to discuss the ground rules with the umpire.
Clock All games will last seven innings, or about ninety minutes. If a game finishes early, the teams are allowed to play extra innings up until the ninety minute mark (these innings do not, however, count in the official game score or result). This will allow bigger teams to field all players. Yield to the umpire’s discretion in this matter.
All games suspended due to rain or natural causes before five innings are completed will be rescheduled or continued (if possible) later in the season. If five innings have been completed, the game will count. In such cases, or when fewer innings have been completed but a makeup is not possible, the score at the end of the last completed inning will stand.
Please be sure to arrive 15 minutes prior to game time so that games can start on time.
Rain-out In case of bad weather, check the website http://www.bostonchurchsoftball.org to see if games are still on. The call will be made and the website will be updated by 5:00pm on the Friday night prior to scheduled games. If, by 5:00pm on the day prior to a game, no notice of cancellation is posted on the website and team managers have not been otherwise advised that games are cancelled, teams are expected to show up for their scheduled games and the decision to proceed with play for each game will rest with the umpire. Each manager will provide a contact number to the league commissioner for notification purposes.
Mercy and Rally Rules For all regular season games, a fifteen-run mercy rule will be enforced after four and one-half innings with the trailing team batting a minimum of five innings. In other words, if a team trails by fifteen or more runs after completing its fifth turn at bat, the game ends.
Additionally, a half-inning automatically will end (regardless of the number of outs) once the batting team scores its eleventh run in that half-inning (however, any additional runs scored on the same play before the ball is declared dead also will count). This rule shall not apply to any team that enters its batting half of the sixth or seventh inning trailing by ten or more runs.
Neither of these rules shall apply to playoff games. Additionally, either of these rules can be waived at the discretion of the “losing” manager. However, for the rule to be waived, the “losing” manager must approach the “winning” manager to inform him/her of the decision to continue play—the “winning” manager shall not approach or otherwise pressure the “losing” manager to waive the rule and keep playing.
Tie Rules If a game is tied after seven innings, one extra inning of play will be allowed to break the tie, time permitting. If the game remains tied after that inning, the score stands as a tie. The umpire shall have sole discretion to decide whether time permits the extra inning of play. Playoff games shall continue for as many extra innings as are necessary to determine a winner.
Rosters There is no maximum number of players allowed on a team’s roster. Each set of team managers will be responsible for their own team’s roster. All players must have a signed waiver on file in order to play.
Age Minimum for League Play No player shall participate in any league game or practice until s/he has reached the age of eighteen (18) years by the time of that game or practice.
Softball Equipment The league will provide two to three bats, several softballs, bases, and the official scorebook. Each team will be responsible for its own jerseys as well as for making sure that each player has a mitt and is wearing otherwise proper clothing (i.e., non-metal cleats/sneakers, shorts/pants, etc.).
Each week, one of the two teams playing in the final game of the day will be scheduled to play the first game of the following week. This team will be responsible for keeping the league equipment and bringing it to the next week’s game. If the last game is not played for any reason, one team from the preceding game played must take the equipment and bring it to the first game of the following week. If this should happen, contact Anthony Giglio via email at parkstreet2@bostonchurchsoftball.org or by phone at 781-789-3940.
Catcher’s Mask A catcher’s mask shall be provided by the league. The league strongly recommends that any player playing catcher wear the catcher’s mask, as it is an important safety measure. However, if a player playing catcher insists on not wearing the mask, that player may do so only after it is confirmed that a liability waiver has been signed by the player. It is the team manager’s responsibility to get the waiver forms signed by his/her entire team.
Official Score The official score shall be verified by the umpire with a representative of each team at the end of every half-inning. After each game, a representative from the home team shall email Chris Russo at parkstreet2@bostonchurchsoftball.org with the official score and the name of the winning team no later than Monday evening. Results will be posted on the website prior to the next week’s game.
Softball Rule Discussion w/ Umpire Only managers can discuss rule interpretations with the umpire and no judgment calls will be discussed. The umpire has the final say in all rule questions. Players will be ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct towards an umpire.
Number of Players on the Field Maximum number of players in the field is ten (10), including at least three (3) women. There are no position requirements of any players, (i.e., there need not be two women in outfield and one in the infield or any other such specified combination). Minimum number of players in the field at any time is eight (8), including at least two (2) women. If a team fields nine (9) players, three (3) of them must be women. There is no maximum number of women allowed on the field at any time (i.e., should a team so choose, as many as all ten of its fielders may be women).
Number of Players in the Batting Order/Line-Up In order to encourage maximum participation, a team may bat more than ten players (in fact, as many players as its managers choose). Regardless of how many people a manager chooses to bat, no more than three (3) men can bat in a row at any point in the batting order (including when the lineup “turns over” from the last hitter to the first). If a team brings too many men/too few women to ensure that no more than three men bat in a row in its lineup, one or more automatic outs will be inserted in place of the missing woman/women. Each team should be courteous and let the other side know that the current batter (third man in a row) is the last batter before an automatic out is to be assessed. There is no minimum number of men that a team must bat—a batting order consisting entirely of women is a legal batting order.
For example, if a team bats thirteen players, of whom only three are women, it’s batting order might be:
Man1, Man2, Man3, Woman1, Man4, Man5, Man6, Woman2, Man7, Man8, Man9, Woman3, Man10, AUTOMATIC OUT (in place of Woman4, to prevent four men from batting in a row when the lineup turns over), [back to top of order]
Alternatively, a team may choose to only bat those players who currently are playing in the field and substitute any additional players into the batting order when they are substituted into the field. If a team so chooses, it still may not bat more than three men in a row at any point in its batting order (including the “turn over”). If a team chooses this option, any player who withdraws from and then later re-enters the batting order must occupy the same position within that order.
Obviously, a player may be in the batting order and not play in the field. However, in order to play in the field, a player must be in the batting order. While in the batting order, a player may enter, leave, or re-enter the field (free substitution).
No player may be dropped from the batting order absent extenuating circumstances such as serious injury, as determined by the umpire. Gaining a tactical advantage is not an exigent circumstance. If an injury occurs and a player cannot bat, the next batter “moves up” to bat with no penalty (regardless of that batter’s gender and the “no more than three men in a row” rule). Any player (without approved injury excuse) who is not available to bat when due up receives an automatic out.
Batting Out of Order If the error is discovered while the incorrect batter is hitting, then the correct batter will assume the ball/strike count of the incorrect batter. If the incorrect batter reaches base safely and the error is discovered, the correct batter will be called out. All runners will return to their original base and the incorrect batter will return to the bench to hit in his/her proper spot. The opposing team must make the umpire aware of "batting out of order" before a pitch is thrown to the next batter. If not, then the incorrect batter will stay on base.
Pitch Arc To constitute a legal pitch, a pitched ball must follow an arc whose apex is not less than six (6) feet nor more than twelve (12) feet above the ground. The umpire will call a ball not within this prescribed arc an “illegal pitch” as soon as possible. If the batter swings, the pitch shall be treated as though it were thrown within the legal limits. If the batter does not swing, the pitch will be ruled a ball. The umpire’s call on a pitch is absolutely final!
Strike Zone The strike zone is defined as the space over any part of home plate that is between the batter’s front shoulder and back knee when the batter is lined up with home plate. Additionally, a strike zone mat may be placed behind home plate and any legal pitch that lands on any part of the plate or the strike zone mat (including their edges—i.e., “the black”) will be called a strike.
Under either scenario, the umpire will have final discretion to call balls and strikes and such judgment calls shall not be argued.
Foul Balls There is no limit on the number of foul balls a batter may hit. A foul ball will count as strike one or strike two, but not as strike three unless caught by the catcher. A foul ball above the batter’s head may be caught for an out.
Walk To Male Batter There is no special rule governing walks to male batters with female batters on deck. Such walks shall be treated as would any other walk. A “pitch-out”—defined as intentionally walking a batter—is not illegal.
Respect Line An imaginary respect line exists approximately ten (10) yards into the outfield delineated by cones along the outfield foul lines. No defensive player shall position him/herself between this line and the edge of the infield or enter that area until the ball is hit. Additionally, no more than seven (7) defensive players may position themselves within the infield (including the pitcher and the catcher) prior to the ball being hit. Violations of this rule will result in a single being awarded to the batter, and all runners advancing one base, regardless of whether or not the awarded single caused a forced advance. This is to prevent unfair positioning of players on a field. The line may be delineated by a series of cones, set up prior to the game. This means that, until the ball is hit, all fielders must be positioned either within the infield (up to seven fielders) or behind the respect line.
Courtesy Runners Any injured player may receive a courtesy runner once s/he reaches first base. The courtesy runner must be the last player of the same gender who has made an out in the game (i.e., a woman must be replaced by a woman and a man must be replaced by a man).
Defensive Obstruction No defensive player may stand in the base path of any runner either before or during a player’s at-bat, except to make a play on that runner. If a defensive player otherwise is caught in the direct line of a runner’s path toward a base, the runner will be awarded that base automatically. This rule is meant to prevent unnecessary collisions. During a play at any base, the fielder should make every attempt to avoid a collision with the runner. The umpire will have discretion to award an extra base if he/she judges that a fielder has purposefully and inappropriately blocked a base.
Safety Bases Two bases will be placed at first base and at home plate to avoid collisions.
First base: the “safety base” will be placed immediately adjacent to first base on the opposite side of the first base foul line. A batted ball hitting or passing over the inside base is declared fair, while a batted ball hitting or passing over the outside base is declared foul (unless it already has hit or passed the inside base in fair territory). Defensive players shall, at all times, play only the inside (fair territory) base. Batter-runners shall at all times run only to the outside (safety) base. The penalty for playing/running to the wrong base shall be to call the batter-runner out or safe, as appropriate, regardless of whether the batter-runner actually was safe or out. To the extent that a fielder or batter-runner plays/runs to the wrong base when there is a not a close play at the base, the umpire may, in his/her discretion, issue a warning to both teams rather than automatically issuing the penalty described in the previous sentence. Once the batter-runner has reached first base and attempts to go beyond first base (either on the same play or on a subsequent play), the inside (fair territory) base is the only playable portion of first base.
Home plate: the “safety base” will be placed behind and to the third-base side of home plate. Defensive players shall, at all times, play only the inside (fair territory) home plate. Runners shall at all times run to the outside (safety) base. All plays on runners running to home plate shall be treated as force plays, regardless of whether or not those runners actually are forced to advance (i.e., a runner running to the home plate safety base will be declared out if the a defensive player controls the ball while in contact with the fair territory home plate prior to the runner touching the safety base—no tag is required). If a runner running to home plate stops and returns to third base, s/he shall be deemed to have committed to crossing home plate (setting up a force play) only if s/he has crossed the “commitment line” designated between third base and home plate for that purpose.
No Leading/No Stealing Runners can only leave the base on which they stand on contact between the ball and bat. If a runner leaves early, the ball is dead and the runner is declared out. If this is the third out of the inning the batter will be first up in the next inning. If the batter does not swing and the runner is still off the base (leading), a force situation exists until the runner returns to the base (i.e., the runner will be declared out if a fielder controls the ball while touching that base before the runner returns).
Overthrows/Out of Play On an overthrows that goes out of play, a runners is awarded two bases (the base to which s/he is advancing plus one more) from the point at which s/he stood when the throw was released. The direction of the runner(s) at the time of release has no bearing on the award (i.e., if a runner is returning to second base rather than advancing to third at the time of release, that runner still is awarded third and home).
A thrown ball is deemed out of play when it passes: (1) beyond the fence; (2) if there is no fence, beyond the imaginary line extending from the end of the backstop (see diagram below); (3) into or under any bleachers; or (4) into or behind either team’s dugout area. The imaginary line noted in (2) applies both to overthrows and foul fly balls (i.e., the latter are out of play and may not be caught for outs once they pass beyond the line). The umpire has final discretion on this rule and should discuss how it will be applied to a particular field with the managers prior to the start of the game.
If the ball is overthrown and hits the fence behind the first or third base lines (without going into bleachers or a team’s dugout), it is not considered out of play and the runner(s) may advance as far as s/he/they choose at his/her/their own risk.
Assuming that the curved line running behind home plate is a backstop, “out of play” is defined as any area outside of the continuation of that line parallel to the first and third base lines, No player may leave the confines of any field fences under any circumstances to play a ball. The umpire will have final discretion in this matter.
Any fly ball that strikes any part of a tree in fair or foul ground shall immediately be declared foul and a dead ball.
Infield Fly Rule On an infield fly (any fly ball—not line drive—easily playable by an infielder) with fewer than two outs and runners on either: (1) first and second bases or (2) first, second, and third bases, the batter is automatically out (regardless of whether the infielder actually catches the fly ball) and the runners can advance at their own risk.
Automatic Doubles/Home Runs Fair balls hit over the fence after a bounce off of any part of the field (e.g. the ground, the fence, etc.) are ruled doubles. Fair balls hit over the fence without any bounce off of any part of the field are considered home runs. Since we only have a couple of softballs for each game, any team hitting the ball over the fence is responsible for retrieving that ball immediately and getting it back into play. The same rule applies to foul balls hit out of play.
Hitting/Bunting Bunting will not be allowed. A full swing must be used in addressing a pitched ball. If a legal swing results in contact with the ball, any ball that is handled by the fielding team in fair territory is considered a live ball. Any contact with a pitched ball resulting in the ball leaving the fair territory (except over the outfield fence or only after crossing first or third base in fair territory) before it is touched by a fielder will be considered a foul ball. However, if a ball is hit into the air and is caught outside of fair territory but within play, the batter will be out and any base runners may advance so long as they do not leave the bases they occupy at the time of contact until a fielder touches the ball.
Interference When a runner interferes with a fielder attempting to field a batted ball or interferes with a throw, the runner is out. If the runner interferes with a fielder during a possible double play and the runner does not slide or otherwise get out of the way, the immediately succeeding runner shall also be called out. Interference can be physical contact, verbal distraction, touching a batted ball prior to the time it passes an infielder (excluding the pitcher), or any other type of distraction that would hinder the fielder in the execution of a play.
Fake tags and barreling will result in immediate ejection from the game and will not be tolerated. Sliding is not required but is encouraged as needed to avoid collisions. However, runners must attempt to reach base and defensive players must attempt to catch the ball. If there is no play, the defensive player cannot block a base. Warnings will be issued, followed by ejection from the game if necessary. Collisions and injuries are to be avoided if at all possible.
Sportsmanship Our goal is for you to have fun, enjoy fellowship with members of area churches and glorify God by our words and behavior. We hope that you keep this in mind when participating. Although the games may become intense, you can be competitive while still maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by the umpire may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league. Given that this is a church softball league, there should be absolutely NO instances of poor sportsmanship. Poor sportsmanship will NOT be tolerated.
Suspensions/Ejections Any player wearing metal spikes will be ejected from the game. If that player is caught wearing metal spikes a second time, s/he will be removed from the league. No additional warnings will be given.
Any player(s)/team(s) that are involved in a fight will be suspended from the softball league for the remainder of the season and possibly longer. The umpire has the right to sit a player for an inning if necessary.
Any excessive contact or collision will result in an out and ejection of the player who caused it. Players must give themselves up, get out of the way, or slide to avoid contact. No exceptions. Violations of this rule will result in immediate ejection.
Any defensive player initiating a fake tag (initiating a tag without the ball in an attempt to stop or force a runner to slide) will result in an ejection of that player. The runner will be awarded two bases (i.e., the base at which the fake tag was applied and the base immediately following).
Any player abusing the umpire will automatically be ejected from the game without a warning.
A player ejected for ANY reason will be suspended for the next game. If that player is caught playing in that game, the team will forfeit.
Throwing Bats Players throwing bats after hitting the ball will be warned once. The batter will be called out for any second offenses.
Determining Playoff Seedings The following teams shall qualify for the playoffs: (1) the three top-ranked teams in each division and (2) two “wildcard” teams selected from the remaining teams in both divisions.
Teams will be ranked and seeded for playoffs within each division based upon winning percentage within the division, with the following factors used to break ties (in order of use): 1. Fewest forfeits 2. Best overall winning percentage (including inter-divisional games) 3. Results of head-to-head competition 4. Number of wins 5. Cumulative record against common opponents
Once the top three teams in each division have been determined, the two wildcard teams shall be selected from remaining teams in both divisions based upon overall winning percentage (including intra-divisional and inter-divisional games, with the following factors used to break ties (in order of use): 1. Fewest forfeits 2. Results of head-to-head competition 3. Number of wins 4. Cumulative record against common opponents
Questions If you have any questions regarding the rules or the league, please contact info@bostonchurchsoftball.org. |
